In-N-Out pop-up sells out burgers before official opening time; queue started at 3.30am

SINGAPORE — Early birds truly get the worm when it comes to the famed burgers from In-N-Out Burger.

The American burger chain opened the doors to its one-day pop-up at Columbus Coffee Company in Upper Thomson at 8.55am on May 31, over an hour ahead of the scheduled time. By then, a queue of more than 300 people had formed.

The event was slated to run officially from 10am to 4pm.

This is the fourth time In-N-Out has held a pop-up in Singapore. Previous editions took place in 2019, also at Columbus Coffee Company, in 2014 at Timbre @ Gillman and in 2012 at Boat Quay.

National University of Singapore students Shivani Chauhan, 19, and Moey Jia Jia, 21, arrived at 3.30am to be first in line.

The pair got wind of the event only on the afternoon of May 30 and decided to brave the queue overnight. After reading an earlier report about how the first person in the queue in 2019 arrived at 6.05am, they felt 3.30am was "a good time".

Said Chauhan: "We knew we couldn't wake up in time, so we just decided to stay up all night."

By 10am, all 500 wristbands were given out to those in line. Each wristband allowed a customer to purchase one burger, either by itself or as part of a set meal.

Three burgers were available — a double-double burger ($11), a cheeseburger ($7) and a hamburger ($5). A set meal included potato chips ($2) and a medium drink ($3), along with a burger of their choice.

Various In-N-Out merchandise were also on sale, including a hat ($15) and a T-shirt ($25). Every customer was also given a commemorative keychain upon entry, until stocks ran out.

Third in line was Nick Kishore, a 36-year-old real estate agent who arrived at 4.45am.

The In-N-Out fan was no stranger to the long wait as he said he was first in line at the 2019 pop-up and wanted to try the burger again.

He also took along his In-N-Out Preferred Customer Coin, which he received from the brand that year. "They told me I can cut the queue with this coin, but I wanted to queue. It's fun," he said.

The Preferred Customer Coin is often given to the first customer at the openings of new In-N-Out restaurants in the US, and they can sell for hundreds of dollars on eBay.

"This year, the double-double burger tastes a lot better than five years ago. I would come back again for the next pop-up and be the first in line," added Kishore.

A spokesman from In-N-Out told The Straits Times that ingredients were prepared for exactly 500 burgers, an increase from the 350 burgers served in 2019.

"We anticipated a bigger turnout this time and wanted to give more burgers to Singaporeans," he said.

However, not all who turned up were able to snag one. After all 500 wristbands were distributed, around 50 people at the back of the queue left empty-handed.

The final person to receive a wristband was Gauri, a 41-year-old home-based caterer. She was in line for only 15 minutes, having arrived around 9.45am, before receiving confirmation that she would be able to purchase the last burger available.

"Just before we got the wristband, we were going to see if we wanted to leave. We did not expect such a long queue," she said with a laugh. Her friend who waited in line with her did not receive a wristband, and the pair ended up sharing a burger.

For now, it appears In-N-Out will truly be in and out of Singapore for the foreseeable future.

The spokesman told ST "there is no immediate time frame" for the brand's expansion into Singapore, but it will continue to host pop-ups as part of its global marketing tour.

ALSO READ: US fast-food chain Chick-fil-A in Singapore this June for a 3-day pop-up

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.